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Parts of Arizona's immigration law now law

PHOENIX, July 29 (UPI) -- Portions of Arizona's new immigration law went into effect Thursday after a federal judge temporarily blocked the law's most controversial requirements.

The injunction, issued Wednesday, temporarily bars police from questioning people's immigration status and blocks provisions that criminalize failure to apply for or carry alien registration papers or "for an unauthorized alien to solicit, apply for, or perform work."

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said the state would file an expedited appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, signaling a legal battle some said would wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court, CNN reported.

The parts of the law now in effect include a ban on so-called sanctuary cities, the criminalization of hiring day laborers who are in the country illegally and the sanctioning of employers hiring illegal immigrants.

Brewer called the judge's ruling "a little bump in the road" that can be appealed.

"The fact of the matter is this is just an injunction," Brewer added. "I'm sure as we go through the process, we'll get a fair hearing."

In Washington, the state's two U.S. senators, John McCain and Jon Kyl, both Republicans, ripped the Obama administration for "wasting taxpayer resources filing a lawsuit against Arizona" instead of supporting the Arizona's effort "to act where the federal government has failed," the Arizona Republic in Phoenix reported.

The U.S. Justice Department in a statement said it understands frustration with the "broken immigration system," but "a patchwork of state and local policies would seriously disrupt federal immigration enforcement and would ultimately be counterproductive."

Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce, author of the law, said he expected a legal fight from the beginning, CNN said.

"I wrote it to go to the (U.S.) Supreme Court," he said before the ruling was announced Wednesday. "I'm begging for that fistfight at the Supreme Court. We will win in a 5-4 decision and finally settle this problem."

Guard troops border deployment delayed

PHOENIX, July 29 (UPI) -- Arizona National Guard troops won't be in position to enforce U.S. border laws by Aug. 1, guard officials said.

The department of Homeland Security and Defense announced 10 days ago more than 500 troops would help with border interdiction by Aug 1.

It isn't known when any troops will be deployed to enforce border security, a National Guard spokesman told The Arizona Republic.

"We won't have any units deployed by Aug. 1," said Lt. Valentine Castillo, a public affairs officer. "We don't yet know when troops will actually arrive."

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano previously wrote in a guest column for the newspaper that 524 Arizona National Guard troops would be assigned to the area.

A spokesman at the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Va., told the newspaper statements previously released about the deployment were "over-interpreted."

"In a general sense, Guard members will begin the process of receiving required training on or about the first of August," spokesman Jack Harrison told the Republic.

The Arizona National Guard is reportedly still screening and training volunteers.

Obama on Sherrod: We overreacted

WASHINGTON, July 29 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama Thursday admitted his administration acted hastily in demanding the resignation of a USDA official who was quoted out of context.

In an appearance at the National Urban League centennial convention in Washington, Obama called for a national conversation on race relations.

Shirley Sherrod was asked to resign from her Agriculture Department job after a right-wing Web site posted selectively edited video of a speech she gave to the Georgia NAACP, in which she described her attitude in helping a white farmer who was about to lose his land. The site made it sound like she decided against helping the farmer because he was white. In reality, she worked with the man and saved his farm.

"She deserves better than what happened last week," Obama said.

Obama said the Sherrod incident underscores how "we should all look inward" and assess our attitudes on race relations.

In a taped appearance for "The View," Obama blamed the controversy on a 24/7 media cycle that doesn't always get the facts straight.

But, he acknowledged, "Of course there are still tensions out there."

Sherrod has since received apologies from both Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and the president. She also has been offered a new job at Agriculture.

Remains of second missing sailor found

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 29 (UPI) -- The second U.S. sailor missing in Afghanistan since last weekend is dead, a Pentagon official said Thursday.

The sailor was one of two military personnel involved in a firefight in eastern Afghanistan last week after they were reported missing, CNN reported.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin McNeeley, 30, of Wheatridge, Colo., and Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove, 25, of Renton, Wash., were reported missing Friday in Afghanistan's Logar province. McNeeley's body was found Sunday after an extensive search, the Defense Department said.

The name of the sailor found Thursday wasn't released but Pentagon officials said they would issue an official announcement, CNN said. Newlove had been listed as duty status whereabouts unknown, the Pentagon said.

Taliban militants had said they captured Newlove after the firefight, a Pentagon spokesman said.

Search for Pakistan air crash victims ends

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 29 (UPI) -- Crews in Pakistan Thursday ended their search for bodies at the site where a passenger plane crashed, killing 152 people near Islamabad, an official said.

Ramzan Sajid, a local official, said 130 bodies were recovered from the crash site and sent to hospitals, CNN reported.

"Not a single body was intact," Sajid said.

Hospital officials would try to match body parts to account for the remains of 22 other people, he said. The plane carried 146 passengers and six crew members.

Pakistan observed a day of mourning Thursday for victims of the accident, called the worst passenger plane crash ever in Pakistan. Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani canceled a cabinet meeting, and flags across the country were lowered to half-staff.

Officials said they don't know if weather factored into in the crash Wednesday.

Crews will remain at the site to collect debris and search for the plane's flight data and voice recorders, Sajid said. However, monsoon rains Thursday hindered those efforts.

Pakistan's monsoon season lasts from June to September.

Poll: Rich must help end Soc. Sec. crisis

PRINCETON, N.J., July 29 (UPI) -- The U.S. Social Security system is unstable and in serious danger and the wealthy must help save it, a national public-opinion poll indicated Thursday.

Seventy-seven percent of Americans say they believe the retirement, disability and survivors' benefits program "is in a state of crisis" or "has major problems," a Gallup poll indicated.

Breaking down the 77 percent, 26 percent say the program is in a state of crisis, the highest in Gallup's 12-year history of asking the question. The first time Gallup asked, 15 percent said the program was in a crisis.

Twenty percent say Social Security "has minor problems" and 1 percent say "it does not have any problems," the poll, which Gallup did with USA Today, suggested.

Of six possible ways of addressing Social Security's long-term funding challenges, most Americans favor two, both of which would affect only wealthy Americans.

Sixty-seven percent think "higher-income workers" should pay Social Security taxes on all their wages, with 60 percent of Republicans, 64 percent of independents and 79 percent of Democrats agreeing with the idea, the poll found.

Sixty-three percent want to limit benefits for wealthy retirees, with 55 percent of Republicans, 63 percent of independents and 71 percent of Democrats agreeing.

A minority favor increasing taxes, reducing most people's benefits or increasing the age at which most people are eligible to receive full retirement benefits.

The July 8-11 poll of 1,020 adults age 18 and older living in the continental United States has a margin of error of 4 percentage points, Gallup said.